How To Construct A Hoop House Garden
Protect from frost and extend your garden season with this DIY garden hoop house! This simple hoop house is sturdy, and easy to construct with recycled or scavenged materials.
We this garden hoop house design to give our garden a head start in the spring, and to extend our growing season in the fall. Using mostly scavenged materials, you can build a 3'x18′ hoop house for around $16.
How to Build a Garden Hoop House for Cheap
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Supplies You'll Need for Your DIY Hoop House
This supply list will make a 3'x18′ hoop house that is approximately 2′ tall. You can adjust the size of your hoop house to fit your garden beds or rows.
- 8'x25′ sheet of clear all-purpose or greenhouse plastic. We use either 3ml or 4ml all-purpose plastic from our local hardware store – a 10'x25′ sheet of 3ml costs $16. If you are making multiple hoophouses, consider getting a larger size such as 20'x25′ and cutting it in half to save money. If you prefer to shop online, you'll find a link below to plastic sheeting on Amazon.
- 5 or 7 x 7′ flexible sticks or pvc pipe (use 7 in areas with high wind, or if the hoop house may be exposed to snow)
- 16 x 18″ sticks or stakes (If your garden soil is very loose, you might want to use 24″ sticks or stakes)
- 14 zip ties
- 12 pieces recycled baling twine (from small bales), or 85′ lightweight rope/paracord
- 12 tent stakes (link below to buy these), or additional sticks or stakes (If your garden soil is very loose, you might find that longer sticks or stakes work better)
We drive out in the woods nearby and cut sticks for all of our hoophouses. The rest of the materials are recycled, so our only cost to build one of these is the plastic. Buying a larger piece of 4ml plastic at our local hardware store and cutting it in half, the total cost for us to build one of these hoop houses is about $12.
If you like to shop online, you can find 3ml all purpose plastic, 6ml greenhouse plastic (this size makes 4, 18′ hoop houses, so costs about $20 per hoop house), and tent stakes here on Amazon:
How to Build the Hoophouse
This simple hoophouse is easy for one person to put together, and doesn't take long to assemble!
Step 1: Cutting the rods and sticks
You'll need to cut 5 or 7 flexible sticks that are around 7′ long. We went out in the woods and cut the willow rods shown on our hoophouses. They grow near creeks in our area and are flexible and sturdy when green.
If there are high winds in your area, or your hoop house might be assembled in the snow, you'll want to cut 7 sticks. Otherwise you can just cut 5. Be sure to build your hoophouse soon after cutting the rods, as they will become less flexible with time!
Cut off any side shoots on your rods. Any sharp protrusions should be wrapped with duck tape so they don't tear the plastic.
If you aren't able to cut your own rods, you can use thin pvc pipe from your local hardware store.
While you are it, cut some sturdy sticks 3/4″ to 1 1/2″ in diameter. If you have heavy soil, they can be 18″ long or less. For light soil, cut 24″ sticks so you can pound them in further. You will need 16 sticks for the 7 rod greenhouse, or 12 sticks for the 5 rod.
These sticks will be your anchors. You can also use storebought stakes for this purpose.
Step 2: Driving the stakes
Drive the stakes in parallel rows. The two rows should be 3′ apart on either side of your garden bed. If you are using 7 rods, drive the stakes in every 3′ in the rows. For 5 rods, the sticks will be about 4 1/2′ apart. The stakes should be at a slight angle, pointing into the bed as shown below. This will keep the ends from tearing the plastic.
Attach the rods to the stakes with zip ties. Be careful as you bend them over that they don't break or snap back and hit you in the face!
Drive in the last two stakes on each end of the hoop house, in the middle of the garden bed and 2 1/2′ past the last rod. The extra stakes will serve as anchors for the greenhouse.
Step 3: Attaching the twine to the rods
Tie 4 pieces of baling twine together to make one long piece. Tie one end to the rod at one end of the hoophouse. Run the twine along the center of the garden bed, looping it around the middle of each rod. Tie the end of the twine to the stake on the opposite end.
This center piece of twine will help the structure to withstand wind, but still have flexibility.
Step 4: Attaching the plastic
Lay out your 8'x25′ plastic sheet along the length of the greenhouse. If you are using a 10′ wide piece of plastic (the most common width), there is no need to cut it narrower.
Pull the plastic up over the rods, being careful not to snag it on any sharp edges. Center it over the bed. Pull each end into a bundle and tie a piece of baling twine tightly around the whole thing. Attach the other end of the twine to the end stake, using a quick release knot if desired.
Step 5: Holding the plastic down
This final step will help the plastic not to flap up in the wind. You'll need the rest of your baling twine and the tent stakes.
Drive the tent stakes into the ground along each side of the hoop house centered between each rod. Tie a piece of baling twine to each stake on one side of the bed. Throw the ends of the twine over the hoophouse and tie them to the stakes on the opposite side.
Pull the edges of the plastic down to the ground. In cold weather, they can be covered with dirt or mulch to keep the cold air out.
Ventilation
On warm days, you'll want to lift up one side of the hoophouse for ventilation. For the sake of cheapness, I just use a couple forked sticks stuck in the ground. They have tape wrapped around the inside fork to prevent them from puncturing the plastic. I remove these and pull the side of the plastic back down to the ground on cool nights.
Watering Your Hoop House
Drip hoses work well for watering inside the hoophouse. You can also lift up one side and use a spray nozzle to water underneath.
Our hoophouses:
Right now in early September, we are using these structures to extend our season for cucumbers, sweet potatoes and some smaller tomato plants. Around October 1, the hoophouses will be moved to beds that are already planted with a variety of cold hardy salad greens.
-Kait
How To Construct A Hoop House Garden
Source: https://kaitsgarden.com/2019/09/05/how-to-build-a-garden-hoop-house-for-cheap/
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